troyw

Got one coat of filler on. Looks good except for the red grain lines which did nothing at all. I'll let it dry and sand back and do another coat tomorrow.

Thoughts?

Here is the body ready for fill...I lightly sanded back a few runs in the washcoat and it's ready to go.

Troy

I got the washcoat of sand and sealer on but I must have put it on too heavy..I've got a few runs in it that I can see. Should I send it dwon and do another thinner coat?

I used a foam brush to apply it since I don't have any sprayer. Would it better to apply it with a cotton rag?

Well got everything lined up as good as I can tell. Time to start drilling.

Question...I've had to take the neck off and on a few times due to the overhang of the fretboard and my own stupid mistakes. (forgetting to put the pickgaurd on when needed.)

Is this a problem? I don't want to start reaming out those holes. They still feel pretty good. Is there any tricks on final assembly to make sure those are going to hold tight under pressure? I read somewhere about using steel wool in wood screw holes to keep them tight but I'd be worried about potential for rust. (not that I plan to get any water around them)

Doing my mock up and I just wanted to verify something before drilling holes for a wilki 6 hole trem. I know holes are supposed to be 25 1/4" from the nut. In that position is the block pretty centered in the cavity? or should it resting against the front wall?

Hey all - I'm back on it again. Went to Woodcrafter's today and picked up my filler, tint and sanding sealer.

A few additional questions...

The filler I got is Behlen Pore-o-pac and I picked up a small bottle of black mixol to tint it. Do I need to do a wash coat of the S/S before applying the filler? I've been reading about it and there seems to be two schools of thought. One being that NOT using the sealer first will better allow the filler to get into the pores but makes it hard to get off the surface wood.

The other thing is that I was going to do a mock up first so I can set the trem and drill holes for it as well as the pickgaurd. I'm thinkng that might be best done AFTER filling though in order to keep the filler out of the holes.

Feedback please...

Thanks,

Troy

That body wants to be staind white so badly....

Transparent white on ash is very tasty you know

Thanks AE - I'll bet it would look good in white but I've got something darker in mind...Maybe on the next one

On this one I'm shooting for Olive to black with a darkened grain.

Just a quick comment on the "fix-the-pocket-width vs. fix-the-neck-width" question: You mentioned another neck fit perfectly. As such, I'd take a little width off the neck, not the pocket. Just my opinion.

Hey Rick!

Yeah, that's what I'm going to do...it's only about a 1/16 or so off so I'll just take it down slowly with a little sanding till it fits snug. seems safer to me too with the area on the lower horn cut away being so thin. I'll just have to re-oil the heel a little after I do a mock up and try and blend it in.

For the finish i would consider a darker or solid back and sides that burst onto the front. that is also going to make your dye and sandback easier as you only need to get the front nice and even and blotch free

Thanks Wez - That's pretty much what I had in mind...what I DIDN'T have in mind was grain filling (was going to keep it more natural looking) but after actually seeing the ash, I'm thinking I'll need to do it. Now I just need to figure out in what order to do it in. (stain/sandback/stain - after or before filler, etc...) Well, this is my first one so it's turning out to be a good learning experience.

Thanks!

No router

PS - the Carvin neck is just a hair wider at the bottom of the neck....

Hey all,

Well my body came in today as promised. I was pretty psyched to get it and when I opened it up it looked great...the grain pattern is really nice and it's very light 2.14 lbs

The problem is when I turned it over it's got these 3 spots that look like they've been filled or something...

Here are some closer shots....

Seems to me that even it they were going to fill it they should have used a light color.

The other thing was that when I tried to fit it to the carvin neck, the neck is about 1/16th too wide for the pocket. It looks like it's mostly toward the very end of the heel on the neck. I tried fitting a squire neck in and it was perfect.

So, I guess my question is two fold....the obvious one being should I send it back for the marks on the back? (I want to do a translucent finish)

and two...how should I handle the neck adjustment if I keep it? Shave a little off the neck seems like the easiest and safest bet but I thought I'd ask here.

Help!

Troy

Oh, for sure! I'm there every day scanning for stuff. Also looking for a cheap body to play with after this build...I think I got the bug.

I was kinda thinking that myself!

Although I've had other guys recommend the GFS so if it's the same PUP it might be all BS.

When you going to install the two sets you've got? anytime soon?

It's been a little over a week...Finish was Tru-oil and it has about 8 coats applied at least 8 hours apart. (lightly steel wooled every 3 coats) As far as the other variables, it's been inside on the dining room table in pretty steady (72 degree) temp.

I can't smell a thing on it and it seems pretty hard

Here is one of the reviews I read on the Artec: http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews...+Humbucker/10/1

When you're on a budget, it's really hard to pass up the inexpensive items that have had pretty decent reviews. A set of 3 Artec for $50-$60 vs. $50 each for the BL's can be a consideration.

I'm not helping anymore, am I?

Yeah - thanks a ton! LOL

Honestly, I think having the mid and neck as single coil could have it's advantages. this would give me more flexibility sound wise I think. I've always been a Gibson player so I do like that fatter sound but it would be cool to have all the based covered. My other Guitar is the Flying V I posted here a while back (1977) and I am probably not going to have that out too much. This build will be my most played electric so it would be nice to have options as far as tone.

In the old days, I mostly played hard rock but as I get older, I'm feeling more bluesy...

That's what we're all here for.

FWIW: The GFS pups are made by a Chinese company called Artec. There are a lot of eBay sellers that sell the exact same pups as GFS, and at a lot better price. A lot of folks here have used them and said they sounded pretty good. I have two sets waiting to go into two different builds, but I haven't put them in yet so I can't personally testify. That being said, I'm 100% confident that BL's pups are dramatically better than Artec's.

Yes, I did read that and have seen the Artec Alnico 5 Hot Rail all over e-bay at about $19 - kind of hard to swallow that they'd be worth a crap but I have read good things about the GFS PUPs and have also read that they're the same as the artec so there you have it!

Sill leaning toward the "wyldes" but the price of the artec does make them appealing When you think I could get two for the same price. I'm not planning on doing any sound comparisons or busting out a spectrum analyzer once they're in...I just want a ballsey strat without doing the full HB conversion right now.

Well, that settles the question of are they rails or not. I think you'd be very happy with a set of BL's pups.

I also think getting the crunch wouldn't be a problem at all. Part of the basic function of a HB over a SC is more power. They drive the amp harder, making the distortion easier to generate.

Yeah and what a great price for a quality product! The only thing I've seen competitive price wise are the GFS pups. I'll probably go for the BL - wish I could hear a sound byte somewhere.

Thanks avenger!

Depends - what does the description of the pup say? I can't access the site at work, so I can't comment directly on the description, but I CAN add this...

Here is the info from the site...

The L-45S is Bill's twin blade masterpiece -- reincarnated from his classic design dating back to the mid '70's!

The gleaming stainless steel blades guide a tightly focused magnetic window in a perfectly structured Alnico 5 circuit for unparaled accuracy and with low magnetic attraction and complete immunity to noise. The pickup is responsive to the finest nuances in playing technique, smoothly balanced from crisp highs down to a detailed, powerful low end.

The L-45 excels in clarity and definition to let it shine with clean tones or high gain and dense effects.

Bill's L-45S Single Coil Size Humbuckers - $46.00

Available in Black or White Covers

I have been reading about Bill's PUPs and it sounds like they're awesome. But I do want the dirty HB sound.

Bill & Becky Lawrence... ordering is as smooth as a corncob.

I couldn't disagree more. When I wanted some tele pups for my first build, I gave them a call. Becky was thorough and very informative. I placed the order that day, and they arived pretty quickly. Maybe IPA had a bad experience, but mine was outstanding.

As for pup choice, it's really tied to price. You can get some for $100/each, or you can find them for $15/each, both brand new. Sometimes you can tell a significant difference, sometimes you really can't. My suggestion would be decide on what you're willing to pay, then do some homework on those that fall in that range.

Yeah, I'd like to keep it under 50 if I can since i've already spent a bit of money on this build. I was recently told that the L-45s is not a humbucker sound but more of a no noise single coil sound...true?

Hard rock and blues you could go with either the Cool or Hot Rails. Take a listen to the sound clips and see what you like. Is there any reason why you want a rail pickup and not a pole piece? You might want to take a look at the Duckbuckers as well. They have a really nice tone, are a split rail design SC humbucker and sound surpisingly good even at high gain. They give a lot more output than I expected and have a glassy clean tone.

Pole pieces are file...I'm just looking for a good humbucker sound in a single coil size. Also something cost effective since i've already spent some cash on this build.

I used to have a strat with a SD Hot Rail and it was pretty nice. I like all the SD pickups I've ever played.

You might also look into Bill & Becky Lawrence's Wylde pickups. All of them have rails rather than single pole pieces and are fairly priced. One caution: being a mom and pops establishment, ordering is as smooth as a corncob.

How about the Bill Lawrence wylde L-45S? Anyone have or used these?

Anyone know how the Wyldes stack up against the SD or GFS rail humbuckers?

What type of music do you play?

I like the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails and Cool Rails.

Hard rock or blues, usually

I'm doing a strat build and an considering adding a single coil sized humbucker in the bridge position. Can anyone recommend a good one for the price?

Thanks!